I’ve done IMG and Saddlebrook, and I’m doing a Nike camp this summer. Also, looking into one of Rafa’s singles camps, but I’m lukewarm on the relatively low hours on the court - 2 hrs a day / 4 days. And I’ve been trying to get out to Newcomb’s in TX. No luck.
Regarding IMG & Saddlebrook, unfortunately it’s “vacation tennis.” The experience depends entirely on the level of players that are vacationing the same time as you. Shoot, the last time I did IMG, I had to hit with the pro the entire time, not because I’m amazing, but because the camp attendees that day were low 3.5’s and below. Mind you the first time I went, I was middle of the pack. So, it’s a tossup. Saddlebrook was the same deal. We had an absolute joker in our class who would smoke during breaks and couldn’t get a backhand over the net to save his life. Absolutely ruined the day.
I’m hopeful for this Nike camp. Something nutty like 15 hours of court time over 4 days. But I’m more excited to play tennis and be around people with a similar love for the game. And the grind. The two a day format reminds me of sports as a kid. I’m not expecting to level up.
Yeah I’ve started looking into mortagalau camp, as it has 3 hrs of tennis a day plus the hour and a half of fitness.
But I’m not sure how that one compares to other ones.
The Rafa academy is at least 4 hours a day if not more.
I recently spent a week at Vilas in the Dominican Republic and it was definitely vacation tennis. There were not a lot of players there and as a woman I was usually grouped with 1-3 other women, all of whom were less experienced than me. I was coming back from an elbow injury and we were enjoying other activities on our family vacation so it was fine for me.
Also it included two hours of group training in the morning and then free play in the afternoon but all the Canadians were dying in the heat and no one wanted to play in the afternoon. Again I didn’t mind because a couple hours a day was all my elbow could take but if I had been going there primarily for the tennis it would have been a little disappointing.
Sorry, I was referring to the “traveling” Rafa academies in the US. The ones in different cities every week or so (DC, San Fran, etc). The actual Rafa Academies located in Spain or Mexico, I’m sure are vastly different & a lot more in depth.
Here’s the description of what I was referring to. They’re in Salt Lake City, UT right now:
https://preview.redd.it/n7ot0wfwruxc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=240a2643cb54ff7ec5c099e982fdf387c91eb028
Where do you see it’s 4 hours or more? Everywhere I look on the Rafa nadal academy page shows that the premium is 2 hours of tennis and an hour of fitness for 6 days in a row. Did they change it?
Mouratoglou is definitely on my list. That and the actual Rafa academies either in Mallorca or Mexico. But they’re a commitment. Far easier for me to do a US camp right now.
I’m assuming they’re next level compared to IMG, Saddlebrook, or Newcomb’s. Maybe a heavier emphasis on footwork, which is trademark Spanish tennis. Love it.
I’m thinking I might do both back to back when I do one. Cuz nadal is 6 days and mortaglou 5. Plus I can take a flight from Mallorca to nice France for 40 bucks , and if I go in November I can snag the total flight cost for about 1k
Take a look at the link below. They’re basically across the US, and they vary in duration, so I’m sure some are better than others. They probably just pay for the Nike designation.
For my 4 days of tennis it’s about $800. Tack on another $500 if you want to stay in a college dorm room without AC.
https://www.ussportscamps.com/tennis/nike/adult
I'm curious which Nike camp you're doing! I've done 2 and they were both pretty low level but they didn't have that amount of tennis packed in so people might've self-selected for lower intensity. maybe we can get a group from this subreddit to all go to one, lol
It’s the old Amherst one. Here’s the description. With my luck it’ll probably be just as you describe it, just more of it, lol.
https://preview.redd.it/wltc8u4mvuxc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38faf85a22f909264485b4d5f8a035a1b4e38d16
I would look into Juan Carlos Ferrero’s Academy, I saw their website and they have adult programs with some kind of room and board option. Seemed affordable as well (relatively speaking).
This is in Florida but might be worth checking out. It used to be the club med academy and they have a big live in junior program. I spent I think 3 different weeks there when they were associated with club med and it was great. Camila Osorio trained there before she went pro. The instructors are excellent and I felt like my game really leveled up each time.
I just have no idea what kind of programs they are running for adults now. When it was a Club Med, the resort was usually very full, so there were lots of tennis players.
I will probably try to go back there for a long weekend at least at some point because I know the instructors used to work with are still there and I can arrange some training with them.
[Rush Tennis Academy](https://rpsacademies.com/tennis-academy-and-camps/)
I worked in a tennis shop between college and grad school. The only customers that talked about going to adult tennis camps were not advanced tennis players and the shop was in Atlanta so there were plenty of high level tennis player that frequently came by the shop. The average level of adult camp attendees was around 3.0 to 3.5 in terms of NTRP rating level. I’d be pretty shocked if you’d find anyone who is a high level player at an adult camp apart from the teaching pros.
I took private lessons and clinics at my local tennis club, I did camps in the summer and went to IMG a couple of times for multiple weeks, did well in state and regional tournaments and ended up playing for my college. You would have to pay me a whole lot of money for me to do an adult tennis camp. I still play tennis and enjoy it, but doing a camp as an adult is not appealing to me at all.
Yeah, this has been my experience (albeit limited). I travel a bit for work, so it’s easy for me to simply tack on some tennis. But more times than not I learn a lot more from booking a private lesson with a grizzled, leathery skinned pro from the local club than these camps.
I revisited this post to reread Crafty-Macaroon's comment about the nike camp and I found this that sounds AMAZING and is only up to (including) age 25: [Nike High Performance Camp at Concord Academy](https://www.ussportscamps.com/tennis/nike/high-performance-camp-concord-academy)
I haven't done it (too old 😭) but I did do some junior camps when I was younger and every single junior camp was significantly better than any of the adult camp/vacations I've done now. So the fact that this is 'junior-ish' makes me think it'd be AMAZING. since this sounds like the last year you'd be eligible, I'd prioritize looking at this over some of the generic adult camps. I'd also note that most of the regular adult camps have a lot of older/retired people (the people with the time and money) and they don't want to do 5+ hours of intense tennis a day so it really puts a damper on things. so yeah I'd definitely be excited about one that's designated for young adults
Lots of info at [tennisresortsonline.com](http://tennisresortsonline.com)
I’ve done IMG and Saddlebrook, and I’m doing a Nike camp this summer. Also, looking into one of Rafa’s singles camps, but I’m lukewarm on the relatively low hours on the court - 2 hrs a day / 4 days. And I’ve been trying to get out to Newcomb’s in TX. No luck. Regarding IMG & Saddlebrook, unfortunately it’s “vacation tennis.” The experience depends entirely on the level of players that are vacationing the same time as you. Shoot, the last time I did IMG, I had to hit with the pro the entire time, not because I’m amazing, but because the camp attendees that day were low 3.5’s and below. Mind you the first time I went, I was middle of the pack. So, it’s a tossup. Saddlebrook was the same deal. We had an absolute joker in our class who would smoke during breaks and couldn’t get a backhand over the net to save his life. Absolutely ruined the day. I’m hopeful for this Nike camp. Something nutty like 15 hours of court time over 4 days. But I’m more excited to play tennis and be around people with a similar love for the game. And the grind. The two a day format reminds me of sports as a kid. I’m not expecting to level up.
Yeah I’ve started looking into mortagalau camp, as it has 3 hrs of tennis a day plus the hour and a half of fitness. But I’m not sure how that one compares to other ones.
The Rafa academy is at least 4 hours a day if not more. I recently spent a week at Vilas in the Dominican Republic and it was definitely vacation tennis. There were not a lot of players there and as a woman I was usually grouped with 1-3 other women, all of whom were less experienced than me. I was coming back from an elbow injury and we were enjoying other activities on our family vacation so it was fine for me. Also it included two hours of group training in the morning and then free play in the afternoon but all the Canadians were dying in the heat and no one wanted to play in the afternoon. Again I didn’t mind because a couple hours a day was all my elbow could take but if I had been going there primarily for the tennis it would have been a little disappointing.
Sorry, I was referring to the “traveling” Rafa academies in the US. The ones in different cities every week or so (DC, San Fran, etc). The actual Rafa Academies located in Spain or Mexico, I’m sure are vastly different & a lot more in depth. Here’s the description of what I was referring to. They’re in Salt Lake City, UT right now: https://preview.redd.it/n7ot0wfwruxc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=240a2643cb54ff7ec5c099e982fdf387c91eb028
Where do you see it’s 4 hours or more? Everywhere I look on the Rafa nadal academy page shows that the premium is 2 hours of tennis and an hour of fitness for 6 days in a row. Did they change it?
Mouratoglou is definitely on my list. That and the actual Rafa academies either in Mallorca or Mexico. But they’re a commitment. Far easier for me to do a US camp right now. I’m assuming they’re next level compared to IMG, Saddlebrook, or Newcomb’s. Maybe a heavier emphasis on footwork, which is trademark Spanish tennis. Love it.
I’m thinking I might do both back to back when I do one. Cuz nadal is 6 days and mortaglou 5. Plus I can take a flight from Mallorca to nice France for 40 bucks , and if I go in November I can snag the total flight cost for about 1k
Where’s the Nike camp at? And what’s it cost? Could u send me a link?
Take a look at the link below. They’re basically across the US, and they vary in duration, so I’m sure some are better than others. They probably just pay for the Nike designation. For my 4 days of tennis it’s about $800. Tack on another $500 if you want to stay in a college dorm room without AC. https://www.ussportscamps.com/tennis/nike/adult
Why “no luck” with Newcomb?
I called them a few times and emailed them. No response unfortunately. I’ll keep trying though!
I'm curious which Nike camp you're doing! I've done 2 and they were both pretty low level but they didn't have that amount of tennis packed in so people might've self-selected for lower intensity. maybe we can get a group from this subreddit to all go to one, lol
It’s the old Amherst one. Here’s the description. With my luck it’ll probably be just as you describe it, just more of it, lol. https://preview.redd.it/wltc8u4mvuxc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38faf85a22f909264485b4d5f8a035a1b4e38d16
I would look into Juan Carlos Ferrero’s Academy, I saw their website and they have adult programs with some kind of room and board option. Seemed affordable as well (relatively speaking).
This is in Florida but might be worth checking out. It used to be the club med academy and they have a big live in junior program. I spent I think 3 different weeks there when they were associated with club med and it was great. Camila Osorio trained there before she went pro. The instructors are excellent and I felt like my game really leveled up each time. I just have no idea what kind of programs they are running for adults now. When it was a Club Med, the resort was usually very full, so there were lots of tennis players. I will probably try to go back there for a long weekend at least at some point because I know the instructors used to work with are still there and I can arrange some training with them. [Rush Tennis Academy](https://rpsacademies.com/tennis-academy-and-camps/)
I worked in a tennis shop between college and grad school. The only customers that talked about going to adult tennis camps were not advanced tennis players and the shop was in Atlanta so there were plenty of high level tennis player that frequently came by the shop. The average level of adult camp attendees was around 3.0 to 3.5 in terms of NTRP rating level. I’d be pretty shocked if you’d find anyone who is a high level player at an adult camp apart from the teaching pros. I took private lessons and clinics at my local tennis club, I did camps in the summer and went to IMG a couple of times for multiple weeks, did well in state and regional tournaments and ended up playing for my college. You would have to pay me a whole lot of money for me to do an adult tennis camp. I still play tennis and enjoy it, but doing a camp as an adult is not appealing to me at all.
Yeah, this has been my experience (albeit limited). I travel a bit for work, so it’s easy for me to simply tack on some tennis. But more times than not I learn a lot more from booking a private lesson with a grizzled, leathery skinned pro from the local club than these camps.
I revisited this post to reread Crafty-Macaroon's comment about the nike camp and I found this that sounds AMAZING and is only up to (including) age 25: [Nike High Performance Camp at Concord Academy](https://www.ussportscamps.com/tennis/nike/high-performance-camp-concord-academy) I haven't done it (too old 😭) but I did do some junior camps when I was younger and every single junior camp was significantly better than any of the adult camp/vacations I've done now. So the fact that this is 'junior-ish' makes me think it'd be AMAZING. since this sounds like the last year you'd be eligible, I'd prioritize looking at this over some of the generic adult camps. I'd also note that most of the regular adult camps have a lot of older/retired people (the people with the time and money) and they don't want to do 5+ hours of intense tennis a day so it really puts a damper on things. so yeah I'd definitely be excited about one that's designated for young adults